Has the buzz around Bitcoin been terminally shattered? Since the turn of 2019, the virtual currency has traded within a tight £300 range and in recent days reclaimed the important $4,000 milestone. Welcome relief, in one sense, for investors who were burned by the shocking price declines of last year. But deeply concerning that dip buyers haven’t been tempted to pile in en masse.
Too risky
It could be said that market makers are simply sitting on the sidelines for some possibly game-changing developments for Bitcoin this year.
The possibility that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could finally approve a cryptocurrency-based ETF, a development that would give the asset class some much-needed legitimacy and attract big investment from institutional investors, is seen as one of the biggest possible price drivers in the coming months. A decision here could possibly be made in the next few weeks.
But what happens if the SEC continues to bat away requests to sign off on an ETF? Concerns over how well protected holders of virtual currencies will only grow and grow. And right now, scepticism over the crypto sector (worsened by the QuadrigaCX debacle late last year which saw tens of millions of dollars essentially disappear into thin air following the death of its founder) is at fever pitch.
On paper I can totally see why fans of Bitcoin and virtual currencies in general have the potential to thrive in an increasingly-dynamic and digitalised world. As an investment, though, it’s completely mad in my opinion — there’s still too many practical problems that have to be solved before it can be considered a sensible asset, and I’m not sure that we will ever get there.
A better way to get rich
I wouldn’t consider spending a single pound on investing in the cryptocurrency space, particularly when there’s so many other brilliant investment choices out there that can help you get rich.
I’ve chosen to concentrate on stock market investing, a tried-and-tested method of making your money work for you (as many of those who have become ISA millionaires will attest to). And before you go I’d like to bring your attention to a particular dividend stock I think could make you rich: Renewi (LSE: RWI).
What makes this small=cap so special? Predicted dividends of 3.2p and 3.4p per share for the years to March 2019 and 2020 respectively, figures that yield a stunning 13.3% and 14.2% respectively.
Investors have fallen out of love with Renewi over the past year due to production problems and rising costs, which saw it eventually release a profit warning in November. This represents a prime buying opportunity, however. The waste management giant now trades on a bargain-basement forward P/E ratio of 4.5 times, and given the brilliant revenues opportunities created by the growing role of recycling in Europe and the increased scale created by its mega-merger with Van Gansewinkel in 2017, I consider it to be one of the best-priced dividend shares available to investors today.